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手作り

Near my house, there is a craft shop called mano creare. It is owned by Okadaya, but tailored more for moms. They curate their stuff so as to attract moms who make kids’ bags and lunch box covers for preschool. Most of what they have is cotton with cars, buses or ballerina prints but, occasionally I can find more exciting treasures. I found this beige tweed on the end of the winter sale rack for just 900 yen for 1.5 meters. The fabric has a wide width, approximately about 145cm so I immediately thought of making a pair or wide legged trousers. The fabric has nice weight and have slight sheen to it. I have drafted a high waisted pants pattern and have been modifying over the past few months. It started when I made these shorts and I loved the fit. It sits on natural waist, covers the belly part with the front tucks and the back accentuate the waist and butt. So I used the variation of it to make these jumpsuit for a customer, wool top and pants set for myself(which are yet to be blogged), and these pants. I added back pockets which are never going to be used but it is a nice detail. The buttons are a gift from my friend, who found many vintage buttons at a flea market in England. I also made the front pockets, but it was not until I finished that I realized the design flaw. Since the pants are high waisted, they should have been placed on the side, from about five centimeters from the waistline so you can stick your hands in. Turned out I have four pockets that I won’t be really be using.The hem is wrapped with beige silk satin bias strips (left over from this dress). These hidden details are nice! Nobody will look at it or notice it but it’s ok. It satisfied the maker’s ego.Worn with crossover back chambray shirt (blogged here) and Superga sneakers. I’ve also worn them with stripe shirt. Wide leggs are nice so I can wear leggings and long socks inside to keep warm.I am satisfied with the end result and already started thinking of making another pair for warmer season. Maybe in bright red linen with cropped hem? These earrings are also my recent make. I took a jewelry making workshop. The group get together once a month to make different jewelry and the fee is usually 1,000 yen.

I bought this bright aztec print cotton lawn fabric back in the summer. I had something like this in mind to make, but the summer ended before making it or having a chance to go to a beach with it. So I decided to make Carolyn pajama by Closet Case Files. This was my second time with the patterns. I made the first one in silk satin. The sewing went smooth as the instructions were clear. I love the pipping details. It is fun to sew and I enjoy thinking about different possibilities for the color combinations. I made this as a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law. I’ll be making a few more as gifts before Christmas comes!My new labels came from the Dutch Label Shop. They are an online custom woven label company based in Philadelphia, where I lived five years in the past. I like the fact you can make a small order starting from 30 labels. They also offer care labels and hang tags.Find me elsewhere:

Last year when I visited Philadelphia, I stopped by at Madalynne studio to take a private bra sewing lesson. We started with Merckwaerdigh BHS10-D (size 75A), but due to lack of time, were unable to finish. Since coming back to Japan, I completely forgot about this UFO (UnFinished Objects) and did not pick it up until after close to a year had passed! I am happy that I’m done with the project now but this is one item I won’t be able to wear. It does not fit me at all. I can’t lie, I had some doubts when I originally decided on making an underwire bra. I have not worn bra with underwire for almost 10 years. I have been wearing soft bras (this, this and this) without wire or camisole that comes with bra cups. I said good bye to underwire bras a long time ago when I realized that I don’t have big enough boobs :(……. but looking at beautiful bras that Novita makes, I decided to give it a go.I had to pull out my old home sewing machine since the instructions called for zigzag stitches which my industrial sewing machine does not offer. I had hard time adjusting the thread tension and some stitches look wonky. The wire channel installment was easier than I thought. I had to cut mine so it fit the bra size. I bought a bra kit from Merckwaerdigh on etsy, and small notions like wire, hook and eye and sliders at the Japanese site Jimura.

Besides some uneven stitches, the bra looks pretty; however, when it is on my body, the underwire moves around and the cup looks flat on my chest. I might need a bra cup inserted.Here is a short video showing my bra.